Business View Magazine | February 2021

88 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2021 are being talked about on both sides of the aisle in Congress, we’re seeing numbers as high as $80 billion in broadband funding over the next five to ten years, which by the way is an impossibility. There just aren’t enough workers to do that much work.” The leadership training at the PCCA’s annual conference aims to address that. It’s part of a leadership development program that grew from a group the Power & Communication Contractors Association started about 10 years ago called the Young Construction Professionals. Its purpose was to increase industry retention by engaging younger members, which is especially important as the existing workforce ages and begins to retire. But just getting young people into construction can be a challenge. “Many younger people don’t want to get into construction,” Wagner acknowledges. “And there are barriers, both from ‘I don’t want to get my hands dirty’ to ‘my parents want me to get a college degree’ kind of things, despite the fact that these are really good-paying jobs with careers that can result in a lifetime of steady, rewarding work and good salaries.” The Power & Communication Contractors Association’s answer is a program called “Who Will Do The Work?” The workforce development program was designed to create an educational track to the industry, and partnerships with a number of community and technical colleges have been developed. Now, places such as State Technical College of Missouri, Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College - Rice Lake, and Terra State Community College in Fremont, Ohio, all offer programs for utilities technicians. The program not only brings a new generation into the industry, but it provides PCCA members with a pipeline of well-trained applicants. Members can also have input into what graduates of those programs are learning by helping to develop and update curriculums. The Power & Communication Contractors Association’s influence extends beyond the schoolhouse and into the U.S. House and Senate. A government affairs committee During the 2020 PCCA Convention, outgoing Chairman David Aubrey, Irby Construction Co., dba Okay Construction, passes the gavel to incoming Chairman John Fluharty, Mears Group. During the PCCA Convention, Past President and Hall of Famer Herb Fluharty appeals to members to help raise funds to build roofs in Bahamian communities ravaged by Hurricane Dorian. From left at PCCA’s Annual Exhibit & Breakfast, Justin Kowal, BRON; Jason Tyler, Brooks Construction Co.; Nick Anderson, Anderson Underground; and Ron Hall, BRON.